A Court of Mist and Fury- Sarah J. Maas

Feyre survived Amarantha’s clutches to return to the Spring Court—but at a steep cost. Though she now has the powers of the High Fae, her heart remains human, and it can’t forget the terrible deeds she performed to save Tamlin’s people.

Nor has Feyre forgotten her bargain with Rhysand, High Lord of the feared Night Court. As Feyre navigates its dark web of politics, passion, and dazzling power, a greater evil looms—and she might be key to stopping it. But only if she can harness her harrowing gifts, heal her fractured soul, and decide how she wishes to shape her future—and the future of a world cleaved in two.

Okay. Okay. Where to begin? Hold on, I’ll be right back……*screams into pillow*. Now, where was I? Let’s start with the rating I gave it: 5 fantastic stars. Why? Because this book was OUTSTANDING. I can’t even. So let’s get right into why I need everyone to read this book. I’ll start with a general outline of why I loved it, and then go into spoiler-bits of raving, so be warned.

Firstly, can we talk about character building? Okay, Maas. Hats off to you. I loved how Feyre does not bounce back after the events of the last book, but instead suffers from very clear PTSD and depression. Delving into her mind, how detailed her feelings are and how deep her fear runs, was amazingly done by Maas. I was so impressed, and I really felt for Feyre. She became more than a character on a page; she became real. And Tamlin? Okay. He also suffered in the first book, so it’s obvious that he will have problems too. And his possessiveness and insecurities are so well-written. I honestly didn’t give a shit about Tamlin in the first book, so it pleased me a little when he didn’t turn out to be the amazing guy we were led to believe. He becomes insufferable, almost cruel. And Feyre, instead of being a typical protagonist and accepting how he treats her because she loves him, realises that he is stifling her. And she turns away. She stops letting “love” hinder her, and realises that their relationship is toxic. This is such an amazing move on Maas’s part. I mean, did a protagonist actually break the metaphorical “fourth wall of romance” and admit that their instalove love was not worth their suffering? I can’t with the feels, man. And can we talk about Rhysand? Holy crap, Rhysand.

There’s nothing I love more than getting to know a character you thought was evil. You get to see Rhysand’s motives, feelings, and emotional side. For anyone who has read it, you’ll know what I mean when I say that the moment when everything starts making sense is amazing. I think I have to add him to my list of top 5 male protagonists. I LOVE RHYSAND. And his story, and the horrors he faced Under the Mountain? So emotionally draining. It’s really interesting how Maas explores his experience with what is essentially rape (from Amarantha) because I don’t think that this topic is explored enough in books.

Next, the world-building in this is so much better. I am not fond of this kind of fantasy setting with Faeries, but I honestly really got into the world that Maas created. It was so well-described now. It reaches far beyond the Spring Court- there are different cities and histories shown to us and I love it.

The humour, interlaced with action and romance, is so good. Maas just got it right:

Touch me, Cassian, and I’ll remove your favorite part. Small as it may be.

She also broke a bunch of tropes that I absolutely hate. I was worried about a love triangle. Maas didn’t insult readers by rehashing that. There is no love triangle. What about the “girl isn’t allowed to do anything because she has to be protected, out of love” trope? Maas turns that around on its head, and provides some amazing character development with it. Thank Christ.

There were so many amazingly emotional and action-packed scenes, and I could NOT STOP CRYING. It doesn’t help that I read most of the most emotional parts while at work, and therefore had to hold myself back. That’s how good it was.

My only qualms would be that, at times, the characters didn’t feel like Fae. They just felt like a bunch of humans with powers. But that didn’t take away from my love for the book. Also, the sex scenes? A bit on the whimsical and purple-prose side. But I actually kind of liked that, and I’ll go into this more in the spoiler section.

Basically, this is one of those books that you unfortunately have to fight to read. If you didn’t like the first book, or are having second thoughts about reading it, I want to tell you to read it anyway, if just to get to this gem. It kind of gave me some hope for YA again, because it never attempted to condescend me with childish tropes. I honestly recommend this. That’s the end of the spoiler-free bit, my friends. The spoiler-filled emotional ranting begins after this perfect example of what you can expect to feel after you read this book:

Okay. You’re still here? That means you’ve read the book, right? In that case, can we just get together and cry about how amazing this book is? Maas got everything right. Let’s discuss some of my favourite bits:

First of all, Feyre’s relationship with Rhysand is the highlight of the book, by far. She’s just so broken and I love how he brings her out of her shell. Her development was slow, but not hindering, and so believable. The banter between her and Rhys was hilarious, flirtatious, and his genuine worry for her had me like:

And you know what? They do. There is more than romance, there is true lurvvvvve. Rhys is better than Tamlin in every way, and this love story is so much better than the instalove we got in the first book, because it builds up over time and culminates when the time is perfect.

The scene where Feyre is training with Cassian and breaks down about killing the Fae in the first book? Broke my heart. It was such a good scene. I just had to mention it because it was so beautiful, and we get to see her start to break through her depression. And Rhys is always there for her, in that scene and in every other. RHYSAND FOR GOD’S SAKE WHY YOU GOTTA BE SO GOOD?

The scene where the two reconcile after their fight? My heart literally ached. I cried. Because the whole book led up to this moment, and it was great seeing Rhysand break down like that. And when he admitted that he loved Feyre from the start?

The writing is amazing. I haven’t felt so many emotions for people that don’t even exist in a long time.

Okay. I need to address the sex scenes. I said before that I don’t shy away from sex, and I love how Maas writes maturely and doesn’t patronise with PG-13 type sex. But oh my. So raunchy. Got me feeling like this:

I’m not complaining though, because I wanted those two together from the start. The first time they do it, with the descriptions of the paints? Really nice, and I can tell that they love each other.

I love how no one patronises Feyre. When she wants to fight, Rhysand lets her. THANK GOD.

And finally, let’s discuss the action scenes. The scene with the Weaver? Holy crap, that was scary. The invasion of Velaris? That was terrifying and amazingly done. You know what music played in my head when I read that? The piece of music used in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows II during the battle in Hogwarts. Feyre is freaking amazing. And then the ending comes, and when Tamlin shows his stupid face again, I’m just like “oh, for the love of fuck.” He is just so obsessed and unhinged, and I literally punched the air when she flung a knife at him, no hesitation. And it broke my heart when she had to return home with him. But talk about a cliffhanger. I simply cannot wait for the next book. How can Maas possibly top this??

That’s it for today. I’ll have some more blogs out this week, hopefully. Thanks for reading! If you have any favourite scenes, let me know so we can gush together.

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Hello gang, I'm Prin. I love all things vaguely book-like, all genres, and am essentially what is known as a book fanatic. Book enthusiast? Book worshipper? All of the above? Absolutely!
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5 thoughts on “A Court of Mist and Fury- Sarah J. Maas”

Oh my God I loved this book too, it is actually one of my favourites! I love Literally everything that happened in this book, even the parts that had me screaming, mostly at Tamlin. Sarah J Maas is just an amazing writer!

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